Letang's power-play goal lifts Penguins past Rangers in OT

PITTSBURGH -- Kris Letang scored a power-play goal 1:38 into overtime to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 3-2 win against the New York Rangers at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday.

Letang won it with a one-timer from the high slot off a pass from Evgeni Malkin. It was his third overtime goal this season.
"It doesn't matter where teams are in the standings, we need to climb and we need to grab points," Letang said.

Jason Zucker extended his goal streak to four games, and Sidney Crosby and Malkin each had two assists for the Penguins (34-22-10), who are 7-1-1 in their past nine games. Tristan Jarry made 27 saves.
Pittsburgh holds the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the New York Islanders and five ahead of the Florida Panthers. It is in fourth place in the Metropolitan Division, six points behind the Rangers.
"There is still a lot of hockey to play, and we need the points more than they do," Jarry said. "So I think we were just a little more desperate tonight."
Chris Kreider and Barclay Goodrow scored for New York (37-19-10), which had won two straight. Jaroslav Halak made 32 saves.
The Rangers are eight points behind the New Jersey Devils for second place in the Metropolitan.
"We haven't played well," New York coach Gerard Gallant said. "We admit to that, but we're still winning hockey games, too. Tonight, we still got a point against a real good team over there. We're battling hard. We have to be better. We know that. I think everybody in that room knows it."

Kreider tied it 2-2 at 9:09 of the third period, taking a pass from Vincent Trocheck and scoring a wrist shot from the slot.
"He is who he is," Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said of Kreider. "He's been a great player for us for a long time. He's scored a lot of big goals."
Rickard Rakell put Pittsburgh ahead 1-0 at 6:03 of the first period, scoring on a one-timer off a pass from Crosby during the second of two 5-on-3 power plays.
Trocheck was called for high-sticking at 4:34, giving the Penguins a 5-on-3 for 12 seconds. Mika Zibanejad was then called for high-sticking 46 seconds later to again put the Rangers down two men.
"It was a good competitive game," Goodrow said. "We got a lot better as the game went on. Obviously, never want to start the game by taking three penalties in the first five minutes, but I think to hold them to one goal there was good."

Goodrow tied it 1-1 at 11:18. Jimmy Vesey collected his own rebound at the right post before sending a backhand pass to Goodrow for a wrist shot from just outside the crease.
Zucker put the Penguins back in front 2-1 at 1:21 of his second period when his point shot was deflected in by Zibanejad. He has five goals during his four-game streak and nine goals in his past eight games overall.
"I just think we're going to be in a lot of these games," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "These games have a playoff feel to them. So we're playing against a lot of good teams and we're going to be in a lot of close games. We've got to find a comfort level in playing those games."
NOTES: Pittsburgh defenseman Dmitry Kulikov (undisclosed) did not play the third period. He was slow getting to the bench after blocking a shot from New York forward Patrick Kane at 10:46 of the second. … Letang's 11 overtime goals are third among defensemen in NHL history, behind Brent Burns (16) and Scott Niedermayer (13). … Crosby has at least 50 assists for the 10th time in his career, trailing only Mario Lemieux (11) for the most in Penguins history. … The Rangers forced overtime after trailing for the third straight game. ... This was the first of three games in seven days between Pittsburgh and New York.